Del Mar district pays former chief $218K

DEL MAR  The Del Mar Union School District has paid former Superintendent Sharon McClain far less than initially anticipated last year when a judge ruled in her favor in a wrongful termination lawsuit.

Superintendent Holly McClurg said this week that the district will pay $218,729 or less once all of the checks are written. All or part of that could be covered by the San Diego County Office of Education’s joint powers authority, which essentially serves a litigation insurance for local school districts.

In October, Superior Court Judge John Meyer ruled that the district should pay her for the more than two years left on her contract, which would have come to nearly $450,000 between her salary and money owed to her though a tax shelter annuity set up as part of her contract.

However, after various negotiations and adjustments, that amount has come down significantly. The biggest reduction was $288,084 McClain got in retirement payments that the judged agreed should be deducted from the amount the district owed her.

McClain sued the district in 2010 after the school board ended her contract with a split vote. She was almost two years into a four-year contract.

Both sides agreed last month not to appeal the judge’s decision.

The district already has written checks to McClain, her attorney and the firm overseeing her annuity.